Did I mention that I love my Kindle?

Several months ago I scrounged up a few extra dollars and bought a new Kindle. This one, to be precise: Kindle Paperwhite, 6" High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light, Wi-Fi But wait Catherine, don't you have an iPad? Yes, I do. And I had sold my older Kindle after I got it, thinking the iPad would substitute. I love my iPad, don't get me wrong, but it only sort of works for me as an e-reader. It's a bit heavy for holding in bed, a bit heavy for carrying around in my purse all the time if all I want to do is read, and like the commercials say, you can't read in bright sun (something we have a great deal of here). The little Paperwhite Kindle is simple, basic, no bells and whistles, but it's so tiny and light, I can pop it in my purse and not even notice it's there, and the screen really does look like a printed book. And you don't have to bother with their expensive cases - this little case Fintie Folio Case for Amazon Kindle Paperwhite and All-New Kindle Paperwhite (6" High Resolution Display with Next-Gen Built-in Light) Book Style with Auto Sleep/Wake Feature - Navy is excellent. I'm glad I believed the online reviews and passed on the fancier cases.

I rationalized buying it thusly - I am already an Amazon Prime member, so I can borrow books on the Kindle (you have to have an actual Kindle, vs. a Kindle app, to use the Amazon Prime borrowing function), and I could borrow e-books from the public library, and Amazon does have a great assortment of really inexpensive books to purchase, and...yeah, eventually, in a few more months, I'll have "made back" what I spent on it. There are some caveats to the Amazon Prime lending - you can borrow only one book a month. One at a time I could understand, but one a month seems really restrictive. But still, I always find something worth borrowing, and it's like getting a free book a month, so....

My public library is also only so-so when it comes to e-books, and as is always the case with the public library, if I want it, it's on a wait list. I borrowed Notorious Nineteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel from the library because it's the kind of book they do carry. (Apparently most of my reading taste is too esoteric for the masses, because I rarely find a book I want in our library system, or there is one copy and 16 people lined up ahead of me.) When this one came available I had to leap on it and read it in seven days, because that's as long as they'd let me have it. If I didn't finish it, I'd have to wait until my "turn" came around again. It became available during the big October crunch at the office, so while I did read it and enjoy it, I feel...cheated. I had to speed-read through it, but I do recall that I thought it was one of the better in the series.

So, I still mostly buy books, and yes, they are often only slightly cheaper than the paperback version, so I'm always looking for bargains. There are a lot of inexpensive books available, and I stumbled across a few bargains that I had to pass along:

Keep Calm and Stretch: 44 Stretching Exercises To Increase Flexibility, Relieve Pain, Prevent Injury, And Stay Young! A good little reference book!

They Found Him Dead (Inspector Hannasyde) Many, but not all, of the Georgette Heyer books for Kindle are now $1.99! I might have gone a little crazy with these; I think I bought four in one swoop, like getting a 4 for 1 deal. (I'm looking at those pages now, and it appears to me that they are randomly and temporarily dropping the prices on some of the Heyer books. Some of the ones I bought for $1.99 are back to their regular price, and others that I would swear weren't reduced last time I looked are now $1.99.) If you've never read any of her books, do yourself a favor and try one. I'm NOT a romance novel fan but I really enjoy her books. They are smart junk food, and perfect for resting the brain after a week of heavy lifting. Now that I see that they appear to be dropping prices on different books at random, I think I'll be stalking the collection again.

It's been a tiring week, and the cold I've been fighting all week appears to be getting the upper hand today. I think I'll be curling up early with knitting, and possibly eggnog. Yes, the air conditioning is running again because we are back in the 80s here, but it's Christmas, and there must be eggnog.